Cliff's Edge
by Lady Callista
Summary: It wasn't that Kurt didn't look amazing in his prom outfit, because he did, it was that Blaine understood exactly what Burt was worried about. Kurt had stood up to a lot of hatred in his life, but Blaine knew personally just how much worse it could be. Fourth in the "When Flowers Bloom" series
1. Chapter 1

Dislaimer: Glee belongs to FOX, the writers, producers, actors, etc. I am making no money from this, and no copywrite infringement is intended. All quotes were found online and are attributed to their authors if I could find them.

AN: Set partway through "Prom Queen," after Kurt has shown his outfit to Blaine, Burt, and Finn. Because this seemed an excellent format for a deeper discussion into Blaine's own experience with bullying, which I've always wanted to explore in a fic. (Shouldn't really need a trigger warning, as the attack itself is not described at all, just the physical damage, but you should know that just in case) And because Blaine's expression when he first saw Kurt in the kilt demanded to be expanded upon. It was just this cute little almost-smile, and it screamed _I love you and you're adorable_. Oh, and one final thing: Angst warning (but with cuddles in the end).

* * *

Cliff's Edge

By Lady Callista

_OoOoOoO_

"_We think a flower on a cliff is beautiful because we stop our feet at the cliff's edge, unable to step out into the sky like that fearless flower." -Bleach, manga Vol 12_

_OoOoOoO_

There was an awkward silence after Kurt twirled away and stomped from the room.

Finn still had a confused look on his face when Blaine locked eyes with Burt across the room. "I'm gonna, uh…" He gestured awkwardly back towards the stairs.

Burt nodded as Blaine rose, but said softly, "Hey, kid?"

Blaine turned automatically, even his worry over Kurt's parting shot not completely able to fully dampen the wonder of Burt addressing him in such a casually affectionate manner. Even after a month, he wasn't used to it. "Yes, s… Burt?"

The corner of Burt's lips twitched as Blaine managed to get his name out for what he thought was maybe the third time ever, despite a month of coaching. His voice was emotional as he said softly, "I wish he could wear whatever he wanted, just like I wish you guys could kiss in the middle of Main Street if the mood struck. But you get what I'm saying, why I worry, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Blaine understood completely, and that was in fact one of the things he was going to make sure _Kurt_ understood when he got upstairs.

He caught the look in Burt's eye then, a look that said he wasn't going to mention it now, but he had filed away Kurt's comment on something bad happening to Blaine, and connected that to Blaine understanding his worry. Blaine nodded his head slightly, the only acknowledgement required between guys.

His anxiety to get up to Kurt surged then, and he said the flat truth knowing it would be the end of the discussion. It was also something he wanted to make certain Burt understood. "I understand, and I worry too, but I would never stop Kurt from being who he is, just like I know you wouldn't."

Burt tipped his head in acknowledgement, although his eyes held and measured.

Blaine easily held his own, his eyes blazing with sincerity, and with love that was no less real for never having been spoken.

Then Burt nodded again, and Blaine returned the gesture even as he turned and headed up to Kurt's room.

He knocked on the closed door softly, calling Kurt's name and entering when Kurt called back in invitation.

Kurt was sitting on the bed, his bow-tie untied but otherwise still fully dressed. He patted the bed beside him, the defiant look he had still held from downstairs shifting to something softer.

Alone with just Blaine, his shell melted away and he allowed Blaine to see how his dad's comments had affected him. "It's not about making waves, not really, it's just… it's what I want to wear. There was this amazing _Vogue_ spread on kilts last year -you know, Sean Connery, David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, and best for the last Ewan McGregor, all these amazing guys- and ever since I've wanted to wear one. They're not feminine, not at all, I mean…"

"They may not be in the UK," Blaine offered softly, not to argue but to make sure Kurt understood why his father was worried, "But we're here, in Ohio, where some of your classmates probably don't even know what a kilt is. At least tell me you understand where your dad's coming from."

"I do get what he means." Kurt admitted as Blaine settled onto the bed next to him, so close their legs brushed from hip to knee. "I know he worries about me, about us, and I know you worry too. But before we say anything else, I… I need to say, say that I'm sorry for what I said downstairs, a-about what you'd been through. It was personal, and I…"

"Kurt, it's okay." Blaine said softly. "If your dad or Finn asks what you meant by it, you can tell them. It's not like I tell everyone I meet, but it's not a secret. I've told a few of my closer friends at Dalton, and well, it's okay. Especially with Burt."

Their eyes held for a long moment, and without conscious thought Blaine's fingers began to play with the edge of Kurt's kilt, not sure where to take the conversation from there.

"So what brought you up here?" Kurt asked, trying to inject a teasing tone into his voice. "Hoping to catch me changing?"

Blaine refused to let the mood lighten, which was rare, but he had finally figured out what he felt he needed to say. "I can't say you're wrong that what happened to me is what makes me, well, want to blend in a little more." Blaine's fingers continued to unconsciously play with the hem of the kilt where it rested on Kurt's knee. "Not make waves. But no matter what you want to wear, I'm not running away. I just want you to understand that it's not that I think it's feminine, or that it's stupid, or any of the other worries I could see running through your eyes. I know it wasn't just your dad's comments, it was my reaction as well. Well, my words."

"Blaine…" Kurt's heart stuttered, and he reached out to lace their fingers together. He had had both those worries, along with a dozen others he couldn't even remember at the moment. It amazed him how someone he'd known for such a relatively short portion of his life could understand him so well.

"Just let me finish, please." Blaine's soft tone was pleading.

Blaine's expression was so earnest that Kurt could only nod minutely.

"My first thought, well, I'm not sure it was so much a coherent thought, more just a rush of heat and the sudden reminder of how hot you are. You look _amazing_ in this Kurt, you really do." Blaine let his fingers trail carefully, gently, up the side of Kurt's leg and over his hip, his eyes flicking down briefly to follow his fingers. Then they were trailing lightly up Kurt's stomach, following the line of oddly square buttons, then up dancing over the lapels of what Blaine would call a tuxedo coat but he was sure Kurt would tell him some cool Scottish name for. Fingers still playing with the lapel, he looked back up to meet Kurt's eyes. "That should have been the first thing I said."

Kurt blushed a little, his gaze dropping to where Blaine's fingers still played over the lapels of the Prince Charlie jacket he had spent hours upon hours altering from an old tuxedo jacket he'd found at a thrift store. His voice was soft when he said, "I hoped you would like it."

"I do." Blaine reached out with his free hand then, running his fingers lightly over Kurt's cheek before tilting his chin up until their eyes met again. "You look so hot, and like you said, it's very, well, it's very _you_. I just... I understand why your dad is worried about this attracting the_ wrong _kind of attention, and more than anything I just don't want you to get hurt again. You've told me so much about what you've been though Kurt, and you know I understand, and I'm not trying to minimize anything, but... Kurt, it can be so much worse."

Kurt remembered the nerves and sadness, and pain, in Blaine's voice and eyes when he'd first told him about the Sadie Hawkins Dance. They hadn't spoken of it again, but the pain was once again resonating through Blaine's expressive honey eyes, and it made Kurt whisper softly, "How bad was it?"

Blaine tensed, his hand clenching Kurt's almost painfully as his gaze dropped to his lap. Although the question was vague he didn't pretend to misunderstand. "_Beat the crap out of us_ wasn't enough?"

"Sorry," Kurt whispered at once, catching anger beginning to brew in Blaine's voice. "You don't have to…"

"No, _I'm_ sorry." Blaine's soft voice cut Kurt off, although he then held his silence for a moment as he took a few deep breaths, trying to access the memory without falling into it. "I'm not upset with you for asking, I just, it hurts to remember, you know? But I'd want to know too, if it had been you. "

Without thought he released Kurt's hand, sliding his arms around the other boy's torso, letting his cheek come to rest on Kurt's shoulder. He inhaled again, even more deeply than before, letting the touch and scents comfort him.

Kurt's arms wrapped around him at once, one hand wrapping up to curve around his shoulder from behind, the other ending up resting warm and solid on the small his back. A touch that wouldn't be the same after today, Blaine reminded himself, and the anxiety that shot through him at that thought caused him to take another deep breath.

The spicy scent of Kurt's second favorite cologne drifted though him, along with the light scent of hairspray and the vanilla of his face cream, and Blaine relaxed degree by degree.

"Blaine." Kurt's voice was as soft and sweet as the kiss he dropped on Blaine's forehead. "You really don't have to talk about it."

Blaine didn't know how to explain that Kurt's very presence was an anchor for him, that he was prolonging this moment not because he didn't want to tell Kurt, but because he needed the strength and courage he got from the other boy. "No, I… I meant it when I said I wanted to tell you everything, that I would tell you anything. It's just easier to talk when you're holding me."

Kurt's grip on him tightened even as another kiss dropped on his forehead, and he whispered, "Then we should get more comfortable."

They both completely ignored the possible innuendo as they cuddled up on the bed, Kurt shifting to rest against his headboard and pulling an unresisting Blaine into his arms. Kurt made sure to keep the tiniest part of his attention on the open door; his dad wouldn't allow him to close it with Blaine in the room, but he didn't want anyone to overhear something this private either.

"I'm not really sure what to say." Blaine said softly. "I've never discussed this with anyone, not like this. You asked, uh, how bad it was."

"Tell me as much or as little as you want." Kurt stressed, taking a deep breath and trying to put himself in the proper mindset for this. Reading about it happening to strangers was bad enough, but he'd never had anyone tell him something like this before, and he knew Blaine would need his strength and steadiness more than ever.

"I had a severe concussion," Blaine began softly, "So I don't remember much of the first twelve hours in the hospital, I don't even remember all of the attack. Which is probably a good thing. The first clear memory I have, after, is of waking up and just, well, hurting everywhere. My head was still pounding, and the light was so bright… Just breathing hurt, which I learned later was due to the fact that I had two fractured ribs. I could feel someone holding my hand, and when trying to turn my head hurt too much I just moved my eyes, and… and my mom was sitting there with tears in her eyes."

Kurt could hear the beginnings of tears in Blaine's voice even now, and he ran his hand in soothing circles over Blaine's back. He had fractured a rib once, falling of his bike, and despite all the bruises he had suffered from being pushed into lockers he knew the pain level was vastly different. And he had a feeling that was just the second in a long line of injuries.

"The first thing I asked was if my friend was okay." Blaine recalled softly, "She started in right away on how neither of us was okay, but she saw the look in my eyes and told me he'd be okay. His injuries hadn't been as bad as mine, and the police had already arrested the three jocks based on his statement. Then I asked her the exact same question you asked me earlier."

"How bad it was?" Kurt echoed softly when Blaine trailed off, feeling the other boy nod against his chest.

"And she told me about the concussion, and the broken ribs. I'd had internal bleeding at first, but it had stabilized on its own before they had to consider surgery. I had fractured both bones in my left forearm, defensive injuries the nurse called them later, and, uh…"

Kurt's eyes widened in growing horror as the list of injuries continued to mount, yet he focused on keeping his breathing even, and his hands soothing as he continued to stroke gently over Blaine's back and side.

"The wrist on the same arm was sprained, and…"

Kurt tensed slightly when he heard soft footfalls coming up the stairs, his eyes flicking to the clock and realizing it must be Carole, getting home from work and coming up to change. Blaine must have heard them too, for his voice trailed off even as he tried to brush away the couple of tears trailing down his face.

"Hey, Kurt." Carole's words were cheerful as her footfalls slowed by his door, her head turning to greet him. She stopped completely then, her entire body language immediately radiating concern and what Kurt had come to describe as simply _mom-ness_. It still felt amazing to have someone he had known for less than a year directing such a look at him. "Blaine, sweetie, what's the matter?" And not just at him, which was even more amazing.

"Nothing happened, we're just traveling memory lane." Kurt said, sounding much more calm than he felt. The specifics were certainly private, but he didn't want her to worry and he knew she wasn't the kind of person who would push.

Carole nodded, her face softening in understanding. "If you need anything…"

Kurt smiled softly in return, nodding in appreciation. "I think we've got this, but thanks." His eyes flicked again to the open door, then back to her face, a question forming. "Maybe, just for a little while, could you…"

"Just this once." She said softly when Kurt trailed off, not quite brave enough to finish the question. She'd known what he was about to ask though, as soon as his eyes glanced over to the door. "I'll explain to your dad, he'll… he'll understand." The open door policy wasn't to erase Kurt's privacy after all, it was simply the rule all good parents had to try to keep teenaged hormones in check. And it was obvious that a make-out session was the last thing on the boys' minds. "Dinner in about 30 minutes sound okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Kurt replied gratefully. She had not only understood immediately what and why he was asking, but had told him how long they would have without making it seem like she was giving them a time limit. And was in that way also asking if he thought the conversation would take longer, which Kurt didn't think it would.

"You're welcome." She answered with another smile. _We trust you _was loud in her eyes, but thankfully went unspoken. Taking advantage of the closed door was the last thing on Kurt's mind at the moment, and it had nothing to do with parental trust and everything to do with the mood in the room. A mood he realized belatedly that Carole had probably sensed, which explained her easy agreement. The door closed softly behind her.

TBC…

* * *

AN2: The rest will be out in a day or two, once I have time to finish editing. Sorry to leave it like this, but I got this much done before having to go to work and really wanted to get it out there.

Reviews, which seem to be rarer in this category than a nice Sue Sylvester, would be very much appreciated. I'm certainly not going to stop writing without them, but a girl does like to know her work is being appreciated, and more importantly, if I know what you like or dislike some of my future ideas may adjust accordingly. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well, as any writer can always get better. Thanks for your time and I hope you're enjoying my stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Dislaimer: Glee belongs to FOX, the writers, producers, actors, etc. I am making no money from this, and no copywrite infringement is intended. All quotes were found online and are attributed to their authors if I could find them.

AN: And here's the rest of this scene. Thanks to those who reviewed and favorited/followed the first part, I'm glad that this and the other stories in the series are being enjoyed.

* * *

Cliff's Edge

By Lady Callista

_OoOoOoO_

"_We think a flower on a cliff is beautiful because we stop our feet at the cliff's edge, unable to step out into the sky like that fearless flower." Bleach, manga Vol 12_

_OoOoOoO_

The soft sound of the door closing seemed to echo through the otherwise silent room. Both boys listened to Carole's retreating footsteps, but the momentum of Blaine's words had been broken and it had taken him so much courage to start talking that he wasn't sure he could pick it up again.

Kurt seemed to understand this, simply stroking his hands over Blaine's back in soothing circles, waiting for a clue as to how this would play out. He almost wanted to reassure Blaine yet again that he didn't have to talk about it, but that was his own lack of courage, not Blaine's. It just hurt to hear about what Blaine had gone through, to imagine this beautiful, kind, and almost overly-considerate boy that he cared so much about being battered and broken in a hospital for doing nothing other than being who he was.

It made all the things that Blaine had helped him through seem so insignificant. He knew Blaine wouldn't think of it that way, Blaine had specifically said that he didn't mean to minimize anything Kurt had been through and Kurt knew he meant it absolutely, but he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Blaine had been so understanding and supportive of him when he was breaking down over being shoved into lockers and having a kiss forced on him when Blaine himself had suffered so much more.

"There were more physical injuries, although thankfully nothing permanently debilitating." Blaine said after a long moment, unknowingly pulling Kurt out of his thoughts, "But in some ways that wasn't the worst of it. It was the _reason_ behind it, and you understand better than anyone else I know exactly what I mean by that. They didn't know me other than as another face in the hallway, I hadn't done anything to make them mad, but they did it just because of who I was. Because the person I came to the dance with -and we even only went as friends because that's all we were- was a boy."

Kurt both understood and empathized, because he did indeed know exactly what Blaine meant. He said as much, adding, "The reason it's so horrible is it makes you feel like it's not safe to be who you are. Like you have to hide away."

"Exactly." Blaine breathed. "Being a teenager is hard enough, peer pressure and trying to fit in, to make friends… it's hard enough if you're cute, athletic, popular. But if you're not…everyone hides something to try and fit in, I know that, but to have to hide something as basic as who you like… I just couldn't do it any more. And I did have a few friends who were okay with it when I came out, and stayed my friends, but…"

"But then there was everyone else." Kurt whispered.

"Then there was everyone else." Blaine agreed softly. "I wasn't like you, where… no one ever thought I was gay before I came out; I could have let it be and that would have been so much easier, but I just couldn't hide anymore. I knew what might happen, well, I never thought it would be as bad as it was, but, but I knew it would change how most people saw me. But it would have been so much worse to keep living a lie. To not be myself."

They continued talking softly as the minutes passed, not so much about the physical affects of the bullying, but about the emotional ones.

Safely cuddled in each other's arms, each whispered things they had never told anyone before, and although there was some shyness and hesitation involved, it was okay because they could tell each other anything.

The conversation was winding down, the sheer emotional depth of it having taken a physical toll, when Kurt made the closing comment that it was really nice to have someone to share all the scars with. He felt Blaine tense in his arms, and hurried to clarify, "I wish it hadn't happened, I wouldn't wish what you went through on anyone, but… but as much as everyone tries to understand, you really can't unless you've experienced it. And I feel so… I love that you felt you could tell me, but now that I know how much worse you've had it, how… Blaine, what I went through seems like nothing compared to…"

"Kurt, someone threatened to kill you. And yeah, okay, the physical stuff I went through may be worse than what you experienced, but you've put up with way more emotional and verbal abuse than I have. Because I had just come out before the dance, and I ran away after it. You lived with it for years, and people can talk all they want about sticks and stones and words, but that's crap and we both know it. Sometimes the words can be just as bad, you just don't see the scars." Blaine slid back from Kurt's embrace just enough to raise his head, making eye contact with eyes that were achingly vulnerable. "Kurt, I didn't tell you to make you feel sorry for me, or to make it sound like I've had it worse than you. I've just never had someone I can talk to the way I can to you, because, well…"

Kurt spoke softly when Blaine trailed off, "I don't feel sorry for you, not in the way you mean, and I know you weren't trying to… Blaine, I've never told most of what I've told you to anyone either, because…"

"Because they wouldn't have really understood." Blaine finished, remembering what he had told Kurt the first day he met him, about the faculty at his old school. "I hate everything you went through, but you're right that it's kind of nice to have someone who understands. Neither of us would be the same person if it weren't for what we went through. Hell, we would never have met."

"I never thought of that." Kurt whispered as the horror of the thought momentarily took his full focus, and his arms reflexively tightened around his boyfriend. The idea of having never met Blaine was more terrifying than even the worst of the bullying had ever been. It literally hurt to think about it. "I'm sorry I wasn't clear before, when I first said it was nice to have someone with scars of their own. I felt how you tensed, and I never want you to think…"

Kurt trailed off in surprise when Blaine's fingers slid up to rest lightly on his lips.

"How long do we have?"

There was an odd tone in Blaine's voice that Kurt didn't understand, but he tilted his head to check the alarm clock. "Seven minutes."

Blaine took a deep breath before sliding away from Kurt to sit on the side of the bed, his fingers trembling only slightly as he un-tucked his black polo shirt.

"Blaine, what are you doing?" Kurt's voice was soft, yet contained all the curiosity he felt at the sudden and unexpected actions.

"Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words." Blaine said even as he felt Kurt scooting closer to him. He stood up, crossing his arms in front of him to grip the sides of the shirt and pull it up to expose his lower back. Kurt's gasp was immediate, and Blaine stayed frozen, body tense as he waited for Kurt's reaction.

Kurt stared at Blaine's half-bare back for a long moment, almost forgetting to breath. He couldn't deny that a small part of the reaction was simply at seeing all the bare skin, but that wasn't really where his thoughts were. He reached out to touch, hesitating when his fingers were barely an inch away and curling them into a fist.

Kurt had been silent for so long that Blaine couldn't help turning his head enough to look back over his shoulder, and he relaxed the tiniest bit when the only thing he saw on Kurt's face was compassion. He watched as Kurt reached out but then stopped, and he whispered softly, "Go ahead."

Kurt's eyes flew from his back up to his face, feeling his eyes begin to fill. "It won't hurt?"

Blaine offered him the barest smile, he should have known that would be the first thing Kurt would think of. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore." But he closed his eyes anyway, head tilting away from Kurt's intense gaze.

Kurt uncurled his fist, fingers trailing over the small of Blaine's back, and the strange white scars on it. He knew it had been over a year since Blaine was attacked, and for the scars to still be there he couldn't imagine how bad they had been in the beginning. The skin wasn't smooth like normal skin, but had a strange almost-texture that fascinated Kurt as he let his fingers slide back and forth over it with the lightest of touches. He couldn't imagine what had caused it, but before he could ask Blaine was speaking softly.

"They dragged us across the parking lot afterwards, so they could beat on us some more and probably also so it would take longer for anyone to find us. My shirt rode up as they were dragging us, and my whole lower back was covered in a road rash, the kind people normally get ditching a motorcycle or something. But it was just from being dragged so far. It was a lot worse, and it's still getting better, but…"

"Is this why you wouldn't take your shirt off when I was giving you a massage last week?" Kurt's voice was barely a whisper as he shifted closer to where Blaine was standing, kneeling on the bed directly behind the boy who was still tensed and looking away.

Blaine knew the slight hunching of his shoulders was answer enough, but he responded, "It's ugly."

"It's not." Kurt's voice overflowed with understanding, and he didn't resist the desire to lean in and place a light kiss over the worst of the scarring. "You're not."

Blaine jerked, the hands still holding his shirt at his sides fisting. Kurt raised his own hands, letting them rest lightly over Blaine's as he leaned forward again, this time letting his lips brush the edge of the scarring, eyes closed as he followed the outline of it by texture alone. He let the kisses deepen slightly as he spiraled in towards the center, for once not experiencing the slightest bit of anxiety over taking such a step. The only thought in his head was to erase the embarrassment Blaine obviously felt over the scars.

"Kurt." Blaine's voice was a breathy whisper as every warm press of his boyfriend's lips shifted his nervousness to arousal. Kurt's fingers stroked lightly over his wrists, and he could feel the other boy's chest pressing lightly against his ass. He knew Kurt wasn't thinking of this sensually, he was only trying to comfort and reassure, but they were teenaged boys after all, and they had been taking things so slowly that the sudden intimacy was almost overwhelming in the best possible way. All the remembered pain drained away as Blaine awkwardly shifted his hands until their fingers were linked together again.

"I wish we had more than a few minutes." Kurt's voice was breathy as well, deeper than normal, as he too felt the shift in energy.

He certainly hadn't expected this when he asked Carole if she would close the door, but now he had his lips on his boyfriends bare back, and the nervousness that he thought should be there simply wasn't. Maybe because of how it had happened, or maybe because he was just ready. Certainly partly for the simple reason that it was Blaine. He'd never felt closer to the boy, or to anyone, except maybe his father -although that was in such a different way that it didn't really compare,- and the emotional closeness seemed to translate to the physical as well.

"There'll always be another time." Blaine said huskily even as he felt Kurt squeeze his hands gently before releasing them. He turned at once, realized the position that put them in, and hurriedly sat next to Kurt on the bed before the other boy could see how affected he was by what had just happened.

"I'm sorry I skirted the truth about why I didn't want to take my shirt off last week. I really _didn't_ know when Mom would get home, and I _was_ worried we might get carried away, those honestly were part of it, but…"

"Shhh." Kurt leaned in to kiss him tenderly. "We never have to talk about things unless we're ready to, we agreed to that in the beginning."

"So now that we're both ready for my shirt to be off, could yours be to?" The teasing tone that filled Blaine's voice was a relief to them both after the pain of the past half hour.

"You did promise to trade massages next time." Kurt skirted, his eyes sparkling.

"Is that a yes?" Blaine flirted back, tipping his head onto Kurt's shoulder and looking at him with adoring eyes.

"That's a yes." Kurt breathed, already feeling his body heat at the idea.

There was a quick staccato rap on the door, but it didn't open. "Dinner, boys."

"We'll be right down, Dad." Kurt twisted his head towards the door and called out at once.

They heard the footsteps retreat as they had failed to hear them approach, and Blaine stood up to tuck his shirt back in. Kurt rose when he did, waiting till Blaine was presentable before wrapping his arms around him from behind, hugging him tightly for a moment. "Thank you for telling me. I won't wear the kilt if you don't want me to."

Blaine's eyes widened, knowing what a huge concession that was, and he hurried to say, "No, Kurt, wear it. I won't lie and say it doesn't make me more nervous than I already was about the dance, but you look amazing in it and I would never try to stop you from being _you_. I've been telling you since the day we met to be strong, to be courageous, I just need to do the same thing myself."

"We'll do it together."

Blaine smiled at the statement that pretty much summed up their relationship. He couldn't count the number of times they had said it, each well aware that they drew strength from the other.

They kissed softly, tenderly, and after a long moment parted with identical smiles blooming on their faces.

"I'm gonna change before heading down." Kurt said softly.

"Need help?" Blaine asked cheekily, putting all of his worries aside for a moment to simply enjoy these rare hours with Kurt.

Kurt's eyes widened as he felt his cheeks flame, even knowing that Blaine was, probably mostly, joking. Even though they had just decided on exploring the whole shirtless thing, and he knew Blaine wasn't trying to push him further than that, this really wasn't the time.

Although the thought of Blaine slowly unbuttoning his shirt, of warm, guitar-calloused fingers trailing over his chest, was definitely a good thought.

His face heated further, but with excitement rather than embarrassment, and he smirked, "I'd say yes, but my dad will be back soon if one or both of us don't come down."

"That could be awkward." Blaine said with a lilt in his voice, "Specially with the whole closed door thing."

"Exactly." Kurt kissed Blaine softly, wrapping both arms around him to purposely rest his hands on the small of Blaine's back. "Ask me again when we're somewhere I can say yes."

"Count on it." Blaine said softly, eyes closing briefly at the warm touch. He had been right in thinking earlier that Kurt touching him like this once he knew would be different.

He hadn't realized that it would be indescribably better.

FIN

* * *

AN2: There is such emotional depth and understanding between Kurt & Blaine shown in the series, and I really wish we had seen all the moments where it developed, so in case you haven't figured it out yet that is mostly what this series is. There are so many stories out there about their physical relationship developing, and I will certainly include that as well, but in my mind the emotional is so much more important to both the depth of their relationship, and the fact that they've managed so survive so much hardship.

And ye gods, how I wanted to just have them say 'I love you' in this, at like three different points. But even without it being said, these two just have a quality where you know it's there, and I told myself I was keeping this whole series cannon, or at least as cannon as possible since we have to make up things we don't know, like the particulars of Blaine's injuries. And I know we never hear any details about the attack Blaine experienced, but the phrase _beat the crap out of us _made me comfortable writing it as I did, as I imagined that or worse the first time I watched it. (and because I think Blaine's attack was bad enough that it's one of the reasons he reacts like he does in "Bash".)


End file.
